Field Trip #589: How To Deface A Winery And Not Get Arrested…

by Andrew Morrison | I’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks zipping up and down from the Okanagan Valley camping, resort-hopping, eating, sippng and generally taking it easy. In that time I’ve visited dozens of wineries, old and new.

Though I’ve long loved their products, the architecture and design has often left plenty to be desired. The lack of representative style has always irked. More often than not – perhaps out of fear that they won’t be taken seriously – owners tend to produce on a stunted aesthetic that replicates what they see and over-respect in their French, Spanish, Italian and Californian counterparts.

It’s aspirational thinking, and as a consequence we have not a few absurd-looking Italian villa-flavoured Burgundian chateau buildings with Spanish tiled roofs and Napa-inspired tasting rooms painted in seven shades of Tuscan regret. It may be a sad testament to a tremendous lack of self confidence on our part (not to mention taste), but I prefer to think of it as an opportunity to do something different. Read more

Field Trip #586: A Day & Night Excursion To Bodega Ridge On Beautiful Galiano Island

A 24 hour period of merciful nothing opened up before our Vancouver Island trip last weekend, which we turned into a dreamy day and night on Galiano Island staying in an awesome, three bedroom cabin at Bodega Ridge…

1-877-604-2677 | info@bodegaridge.com | BodegaRidge.com | Twitter | Facebook

How To Get There: A nice drive, curvy drive on Galiano after a quick trip on BC Ferries from Tsawwassen to Sturdies Bay (schedule)

Cost: $150-$200 a night (based on double occupancy).

Accommodation Type: Rustic cabins surrounding a multi-level lodge. Cabins are fully equipped with modern conveniences, cozy beds and full kitchens. Quiet like you wouldn’t believe.

Connectivity: Cell coverage OK. Tethering in cabins. Wireless in the lodge.

Things To Do: We were only there for 24 hours, but Bodega Ridge struck us as the kind of place that one wouldn’t really want to ever leave. Nonetheless, explore the island and hit up the quiet beaches after dodging the hundreds of deer that seem to play “get a load of me” games with the road. Most of all, however, you should stick within earshot of the dinner bell. Mook Sutton from Chambar & The Dirty Apron is on staff making breakfast, lunch and dinner for guests, plus cold, local beer is available and the coffee is roasted nearby.

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Field Trip #585: Diggin’ Guerilla Archaeology In Vancouver…

Me and a friend took our sons out for a dig and pretzels today somewhere in the recess of our neighbourhood. The only archaeology I’d done before was at the bottom of an old well while I was a foreign student some 15 years ago, back when I thought Indiana Jones’ career was something easily replicated (still not entirely convinced to the contrary).

I remember being not all that amazed by the finds at the time, as the cat and rat skeletons, broken plates, rags and knives discovered during that school dig weren’t things that I could viscerally connect to. My fellow students could put them in a more personal context because they were “of that place”. I was not. I was born in Vancouver, and naturally find the short sweep of its modern history to be profoundly more interesting than that of most other places I’ve ever been to.

I should stress that this isn’t “real” archaeology. We’re not going meters down and hunting for evidence of aboriginal life thousands or hundreds of years ago. We’re looking for old bottle caps and rubbish on and just below the surface to get our kids excited about the past. Without training, geophysical surveys or documents leading to a proverbial “x” (we’ll leave such things to the pros digging real archaeological sites), one simply marks a spot and digs a small, inoffensive hole a few inches deep.

At our spot – an old dump – today, we brought up plenty of cool finds dating from the Victorian to the 1960′s. We found an over-abundance of old glass (including an intact bottle buried in mud) and just as much shattered ceramic of many different types. There were also butchered bones galore, and bits of metal that included an iron skeleton key and an old copper latch hook (amazingly, the only plastic we found was on the surface).

Here are a few shots of the day and of the finds my son and I categorised afterwards at home … Read more

Field Trip #584: To Tofino For Fancy Book Writin’ And Oysters

I’m on the island tooling a new book for a week and then sticking around to MC the Clayoquot Oyster Festival). Posts will still be coming fast and furious, as I’m wired to the hilt for this trip and our contributors have their own keys. I hope to see some of you up there.

PS. We’ll be launching the new version of Scout shortly after I get back. Ooh, bells and whistles!

Field Trip #582: A Summer Heat Wave Escape To The Empire City

We’re blogging from New York City this week. Arrived yesterday morning for food, drink and awesome explorations besides, and damn is it ever hot out! Our current home is the supremely sweet Ace Hotel in midtown Manhattan (where Q-Tip throws down tonight). Last night was all about ramen at Momofuku, pizza at Empire and bourbon at The Breslin. Today it’s the “L” train to Brooklyn for chocolate and beer after hot pints of Stumptown coffee. The weekend sees a brief trip to Massachusetts, after which we’ll weigh anchor at a friend’s house in the Village and then we really go to town. More soon…

Good Times From Street Hockey To Chants Of “BC Bud! BC Bud!”

A few clips from our weekend adventures. Good times.

Field Trips

Outstanding In The Field

National Belgian Day at Chambar

Dropping The Bar At Pourhouse

Bavarian Debauchery @ The Alpen Club

Jay Jones Makes a Norman Collins

The Wickaninnish Chefs

Tofino Food & Wine Fest

Charlie Ainsbury Pours

2009 Naramata Unfiltered

2009 Spot Prawn Fest

Interview With The Pourhouse Boys

Interview With Daniel Boulud

The Kentucky Bourbon Trail

Interview With Jean-Georges Vongerichten

Interview With Angus An

Interview With Mark Brand and Josh Pape of the The Diamond

Okanagablog #417

UR | Feb 23rd 2009

Canadian Culinary Championships

Opening Of Market

Best Dinner Ever

Dine Out Preview

Au Petit Chauvignol

Field Trip To Sidney

R.TL Opens In Yaletown

My First DB Burger

First Look at R.TL

First Look at Campagnolo

First Look at Piato

First Look at The Refinery

2008 Whistler Cornucopia

First Look at Miku

2008 Gold Medal Plates

Field Trip To Victoria

Okanagan Debauchery

First Look a Pan

Kentuckalypse Soon: On The Bourbon Trail

I love the smell of bourbon in the morning...

I’ve never been to Kentucky, so when I was asked if I wanted to tag along on a trip with several of Vancouver top bartenders for six days, I didn’t say no. Press trips are always plenty of fun, but this particular one (courtesy of Maker’s Mark) sounded more insane than just marginally entertaining. It looks to be mighty educational, too (I’m not as up to speed with American whisky as I am with scotch). While I don’t foresee any real interruption to our local coverage, the Kentuckalypse Now blog will be popping up plenty. Read more

Two Years After The Storm

While Jack was in school today Michelle and I took Pip to survey how the western side of Stanley Park was coming along nearly two years after the terrible storm that knocked down thousands of her trees.

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The area around Prospect Point is still a shocker. No matter how many times I drive through that area it still amazes me that we can not just see the ocean but also all the way out to Lighthouse Park and beyond to Vancouver Island. According to Wikipedia, 60% of the trees were damaged in this area, and it shows. It looks like a bomb went off and then a drunken clear cut party laid waste to whatever was left with rusty chainsaws and nail files. Deeper in the park the carnage is less noticeable, with clearings hear and there already showing sprouts (lots of new trees growing on the stumps of old ones, and underbrush so thick as to be impassible). It was a wet, foggy day and much fun was had, especially with the Wellingtons on. It felt like we had the whole place to ourselves (it’s 10% larger than New York’s Central Park!), save for the occasional squirrel and the ever-present, ever-menacing murder of crows.